Equal Parts Vinegar and Water
by DoctorDeadWizard
Summary: Sequel to "No One Should Be Alone." A group of people have been living in a house for a few months now. Things were looking calm until an unexpected flat tire introduces a few new people into their group. After hearing their story, the set off in search of the others from the prison only to discover they are not as safe as they thought.
1. Chapter 1 - Verdict

Chapter 1 – Verdict

The courtroom was silent as the jury made its way back into the room. They sat down in their chairs except for the foreperson that remained standing. Nicole sat in her chair staring at the carved wood on the front of the judge's bench. She shook her head as she realized her fate already before the jury even deliberated.

"Defendant, please rise," ordered the judge. Nicole stood along with her attorneys appointed to her since she could not afford one on her own. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" the judge asked.

"We have, Your Honor," the foreperson stated. Nicole's mother was about the same age as the foreperson, around her mid-forties. The bailiff went to retrieve the verdict to take to the judge. The judge opened the piece of paper and set it down in front of himself.

"Jury, what is your verdict?" he asked.

"We find the defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter, Your Honor," said the foreperson. Nicole clenched her jaw and tried to hold back the tears. A few fell down her cheeks but she did not sob or wail. It was her fate. She knew it.

"The defendant will be taken into immediate custody. Sentencing will take place in a week's time. Dismissed!" the judge stated and then banged his gavel.


	2. Chapter 2 - Keeping Up

Chapter 2 – Keeping Up

"Coming up on the news at five, more updates on the epidemic that has taken hold of Maryland. Are you in danger or does the government have it under control? Stay tuned," the woman newscaster said before Angelique turned the channel.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Nicole yelled from the side of the room. Angelique looked over.

"Too bad for you. Keeping Up With The Kardashians is on," she said with indifference.

"Oh, you mean the repeats you've been watching. Come on, Angelique, you already know the outcome of this episode. I want to watch the news?" Nicole tried to reason with the inmate.

"What do you think, ladies?" Angelique asked the other woman in the recreation room.

"Fuck the news, man," replied Kim. There was a murmur of agreement with the rest of the women. Angelique looked over at Nicole and shrugged her shoulders.

"Majority vote," Angelique said somewhat apologetically with a smug smile. Nicole shook her head and went to pick up the latest newspaper.

Nicole was never able to watch the news unless Angelique didn't like a particular episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Then, she was able to keep herself informed of what was happening in the world. When she wasn't trying to catch the news on television she was reading the newspaper. One day she would leave this place, be pardoned, and she didn't want to be shell shocked with new inventions and government rule changes.

"Hey, Nicole," a voice said from the side. It was one of the guards, a woman guard named Tracey.

"Hey, Tracey. How are you today?" Nicole said. She had no dissent with any of the guards. They hadn't put her in jail. The guards appreciated her respect. Occasionally, it worked to Nicole's advantage even if that was never her intent.

"I'm good," she said looking around at the other inmates. "I've got the news feed on the laptop if you want to watch it.

"Thanks, Tracey," she said as she sat down in front of the computer.

Nicole watched the news report about the epidemic that had occurred out of Maryland. The tone of the report was deceiving which left a bad impression on Nicole. Had she actually heard they were trying to enclose all of Maryland from the rest of the world? This epidemic, these people, could not be held back and it was spreading, rapidly. The news report said there may be people in Pennsylvania who were bitten and it possibly could have entered into Virginia and Delaware. Anytime the news was vague, Nicole knew they were hiding the true brutal truth. At the end of the broadcast, Nicole saw Tracey slowly close the laptop. She looked over at the guard. She was white as a ghost.

"Tracey, are you okay?" Nicole asked with concern.

"This isn't good, Nicole. It's not good at all," Tracey said. "Some of those shots were not taken in Maryland. They were in South Carolina. I grew up in South Carolina and know exactly where the video was taken. My folks are in danger."

"Hey, on your next break or when you get home today, give them a call. I'm sure they are okay. The news report said the government had a handle on this," Nicole tried to console. Tracey nodded but worry etched itself into the lines of her face. Nicole knew it was a lie. If the bitten people had spread this far south, they were all in danger.

Nicole was also fairly certain it was spreading around the world. There was an article in the newspaper last week of cannibalism in Africa. It was played off as a third world problem. Another article reporting that a little girl in Australia had become rabid after being bitten by a dingo. Again, it was another cover up for this epidemic. No, it was no longer an epidemic; it was a pandemic!


	3. Chapter 3 - Still Alive

Chapter 3 – Still Alive

In the early morning light, Nicole got into the van as Jason manned the gate. Jack sat in the passenger seat. The engine started with a roar. She waved her arm out the window to signal Jason to open the gate. Once she drove the vehicle clear of the fence, he closed and locked it behind her. The two story stone house with black shutters she had just left looked out of place in the suburban neighborhood as she backed out of the driveway and onto the street. A tall wooden fence surrounded it. It was the only house with a fence of that sort. It wasn't an old home, built in the last ten years, if it was that old. Most of the houses on the street were abandoned.

The two who had left the stone house rode towards a small town and down a back road to a small grocery store. As they proceeded, Nicole glanced at the other houses that were dilapidated with overgrown yards and gardens. People walked the streets as if they were walking home from an all-night alcoholic binge. They swayed as they strolled aimlessly. Some dragged a foot behind themselves. Heads were lowered it what seemed like shame. They all had a fight gone terribly wrong look about them, with torn garments, bruised skin, and open wounds. These were not your everyday citizens. They were the dead bodies of people who once occupied the neighborhood and beyond, kept alive by some sort of virus. The walking dead meandered their way around until sound, light, or fresh blood distracted them. The van's engine made some of the walking bodies take notice and turn towards it. Nicole kept the vehicle moving. They were not fast enough to follow for any amount of time but at least for a moment they moved away from the house. She had learned that if her group stayed anywhere for too long, the roamers found out where they were and stalked them by hanging outside the fences they built. It would become too much to kill them all and eventually the roamers would push it over. The fences were built to last but when a large group of the undead wanderers pressed themselves upon it, it wasn't long before it caved. Their current residence was the third house the group had lived in in the past year.

Nicole had found the small supermarket by chance one day on one of her outings. When she noticed it, her immediate thought was that it had been stripped clean already but she took a chance that there might have been something left. To her surprise, half the store was stocked. Her assumption was that it was tucked away down the road so far, only a few people knew about it and couldn't take the entire contents with it. No one had been this way in a long time either. She was sure her group would be the only ones using it. There was no need to grab everything and go. When she came back with Jack the next day, they took a substantial quantity of the canned goods to be on the safe side. Eventually, the noise of carrying the stuff to the van attracted some unwanted attention. They didn't linger.

Now, they had returned for more food and supplies. The winter months were ahead of them. The garden had produced some winter vegetables that needed to be stored. Luckily for them, Tracey's grandmother had taught her how to can. Tracey had already taken care of the summer fruits and vegetables they harvested. They were not sure it would be enough. Nicole stopped the van parallel to the building. This helped in case they had to leave in a hurry; they wouldn't have to back up. Jack looked over at her. They nodded and got out of the van. Nicole approached the door first. Jack put his back towards her looking out to the parking lot and street beyond. They always knew they would draw in some of the roamers because of the vehicle noise. Jack was looking at a half dozen making their way towards them. He raised his gun in their direction.

"Remember, no bullets unless absolutely necessary," Nicole said in a whisper as she inserted the key into the padlock they had put on the door.

"Do you have to remind me every time?" he asked bitterly as he turned slightly towards her.

"I wasn't talking to you," she quipped looking over at him with smirk. "I was reminding myself, but you could use with reminding as well."

She opened the door and went inside. Jack followed her and locked the door from the inside. It wasn't a large grocery store, only slightly bigger than a convenience store, really. There were a number of other things in the store other than groceries. It reminded Nicole of a general store, like the ones seen in movies that depicted the turn of the century.

She grabbed a cart and headed towards a shelf with empty jars used for canning. Looking down at a list, she scanned the shelf. Tracey had written down a few things she would need if the store had it. Nicole picked up two cases of jars, one case of quart and one case of pint sized. Tracey also needed a jar lifter. She had used tongs found in the house last time, but two jars broke because the tongs did not grip well. Luckily for Tracey, Nicole found one. There was more on the list but they were not in that area.

Nicole moved on to the food area to gather the other things. She grabbed up canned goods, jelly, and peanut butter (that stuff lasted longer than she would have ever thought). The jars of peanut butter looked odd to her. The quantity seemed off. Removing the tag from the front of the shelf, she turned it over. There was a number written on the back of it. It said 12. Looking back at the jars, she counted them. There were only ten left. There shouldn't have been any missing. The lock on the front door wasn't broken. No one from her group came here except for Jack and he was always with her. Either he took it, or someone else had been there. Maybe Jack had taken some while they were here last time and she hadn't noticed. She would question him later. Reaching into her pocket she took out a pen. She crossed out the 12 on the back of the label and wrote a six, then, put four jars of peanut butter into her cart. She went back to her shopping. Each time she took something from the shelf, she changed the number on the back of the pricing labels on the shelf. By the end, peanut butter wasn't the only thing missing. She took the cart to the front of the store where Jack was waiting.

Jack was only there for backup. She would have come alone, but she had tried that once when she first found the place. She ended up not taking much with her that trip. Walkers had swarmed the van as she tried to get a cart of food to it. She left the cart inside and had to battle her way to get into the vehicle. In one hand, she held her pistol and the other a can of peaches as she sat in the driver's seat. No one was happy that day. A magazine of bullets was gone and gas wasted for one can of peaches. The next day they all went. Everyone helped to secure the store and that's when they put their own padlock on the door. With all seven of them there, it had been too much. Now with the place secured, she decided she would only take one person with her from that point on when she went "shopping." Jack appointed himself when she told them. He came with her every time. She liked it that way.

He unlocked the front door and held it open for her. "Ladies first," he said like he always did. Nicole rolled her eyes. She never thought herself much of a lady, especially as she stabbed a roamer with her knife. It dropped to the ground as she turned to lock the door behind her. Jack took up fending off the undead. He hammered two skulls with his pipe wrench as he made his way from the door to the back of the van. Once everything was loaded, Nicole gave the cart a push and let it roll towards the store wall. They quickly got into the van and headed back to the house.

Nicole always went a different way back then when they came. It helped not attract a great number of walkers to their house.

"Did you remember to pick up your supply?" Jack asked giving her a strange dark look.

"My what?" she questioned then remembered what he was referencing. "Oh, that. Yeah, I got 'em." He shook his head with a look of disgust. "Don't give me that! You once needed them too."

"Yeah, but I quit," he said in a deep raspy voice.

"I don't know why?" she jabbed, "It's not like we're going to die of cancer."

"That's not funny," he stated flatly.

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Tapping the bottom of the pack, one popped up. She offered it to Jack. He turned his head to look out the window.

"Suit yourself." She took the cigarette between her lips and lit it with a lighter. She cracked her window, but Jack rolled his halfway down. The air was chilly. He visibly shivered. She laughed. He finally gave in to the cold and rolled the window back up.

As Nicole was finishing her cigarette, they noticed a band of walkers around a vehicle on the shoulder of the road. When they passed it, they noticed someone was inside the car.

"Shit!" Nicole said as she drove the van farther on then pulled it over to the side of the road. Some of the roamers took notice and left the car to go towards the van.

"No way!" Jack yelled.

"Yes, way. Get out of the damn van," Nicole ordered.

"It's only the two of us. We can't take out that many roamers," Jack pointed out.

"Yes, we can. And we are," Nicole stated as she unsheathed her knife.

Jack may have been tall and muscular but his morals kept him from using either to their full potential. She jumped out of the van and threw her spent cigarette on the ground. Slamming the door behind her, three of them were already making their way towards her. Jack was still in the van watching her in the side mirror shaking his head in disbelief. One advanced on her straight away, the other two wandered just behind. The first was easy to take out. Trying to tackle the other two single handedly was not going to be easy. She kicked at the smaller of the two biters; it used to be a petite woman. It fell to the ground, which gave her the time to jab her knife into the eye socket of the one still standing. Finally, Jack came out of the van seeing other biters turn from the mob surrounding the car with wrench in hand.

Standing side by side, they drew the walkers away from the car. They battled through the horde, Nicole taking out more than Jack did. As she was becoming winded and didn't know whether she could take out another roamer, Jack swung his wrench and the last one fell. Both stood breathing hard as rich dark blood dripped from the weapons and their fingertips.

The driver's car door opened. A figure stepped out. A dark skinned wide-eyed priest - his black attire and white collar gave away his occupation - stood before them.

"I…I…can't believe…you just did that," he stammered placing a hand on his forehead looking around at the dead undead.

"A thank you would be nice," Nicole griped.

"I'm sorry," the priest said quickly. "Thank you. I would have never been able to get out if it hadn't been for you. My prayers were answered." Nicole rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome, Father," Jack said seeing Nicole's expression.

"You need anything else?" Nicole asked. Jack gave her a look to continue that statement. "Father?"

"Well, I have a flat tire," he said pointing to the rear left tire. "It was the reason I had pulled over. I got in my car just in time before I became overwhelmed."

"What did you use to fight them off?" Nicole asked.

"Well, you see, I don't fight them. I don't carry a weapon," he stated.

"What?" Nicole said in disbelief. "How in the hell are you still alive?"

"I've been living in a house," he informed them.

"With other people?" Nicole surmised.

"No, by myself," he answered quietly. Nicole stood there slack jawed staring at him. She had never known anyone to survive on their own and unarmed.

"How long have you been in the car?" she asked.

"Been trapped in there since yesterday," he said not looking at her.

"Yesterday?" she said with surprise.

"We need to go, now," Jack chimed in. He was looking off to his right. Nicole followed his gaze. Another group of roamers was making its way out of the brush onto the road towards them. This group was much bigger.

"Crap," Nicole growled. "All right. Father, you're coming with us."

"I…I…don't…maybe," he stammered.

"Get in the van, now!" Nicole shouted and rushed to the driver's side.

Jack urged the priest towards the van with more finesse than Nicole. She had started the engine as the side door opened and the priest got in quickly. Jack hopped in the front passenger seat. As soon as she heard the doors shut, she threw the van in gear and pressed on the accelerator. The van sped off leaving the walkers still crawling around the priest's car.

"I'm Jack, by the way," Jack said turning in his seat to look at the priest. "This is Nicole." She glanced in the rear view mirror at him. Jack handed him a bottle of water. He guessed the priest was thirsty from being in the car for so long.

"Thank you," he said taking the water. "My name is Gabriel."

Nicole snickered. Jack gave her a look. She started coughing instead.

"Sorry, something in my throat," she said. She grabbed her own canteen of water and drank from it.

"Where were you going, Father Gabriel?" Jack asked.

"I was on my way back to my house from a food run. I found a store with supplies," Gabriel answered. "And you can call me Gabriel. No need for all the formalities." Jack nodded.

"You're the one!" Nicole spoke. "You took our food."

"I…I didn't take anything of yours. I said I was on my way home from a store," Gabriel defended.

"We had that place. No one had been in there for months. We had our own lock on the front door. How did you get in?"

"The back storage door was unlocked. It stuck a little but I was able to force it open."

"Damn it! I thought you said all the doors were locked?" Nicole turned her attention to Jack.

"Watch your language," Jack said and nodded towards Gabriel. "I thought they were too. Alex checked that door."

"For Chri…Fu…," Nicole began but Jack kept looking at her sternly. She grimaced the sighed deeply in defeat. "I'll talk to Alex when we get back."

"Are you people from around here?" Father Gabriel asked.

"No, we originated from farther south," Jack professed.

"Florida?" Gabriel asked.

"Not that far," Nicole answered.

Nicole turned onto the street where their house was. She observed Gabriel looking outside the windows searching the scenery presumably for people he knew. She didn't know how long he had been in his house by himself. It seemed it had been a while. He looked at everything with kid eyes, in bewilderment and awe. When they pulled into the driveway, Jack got out of the van and knocked on the gate. He had to slaughter two walkers as he stood there. Nicole noticed Gabriel turned away from the slaying. Lance was operating the door this time. He was a good-looking dark skinned man with sorrowful eyes. After she pulled the van through the gate, Jack and Lance secured it behind her. Nicole got out of the van; she went to the other side and opened the side door. Father Gabriel was a bit apprehensive to exit the vehicle. When he hesitated, she moved to the rear of the van and started to unload the supplies she and Jack had picked up.

"Who is that?" Tracey asked as Nicole walked onto the front porch carrying a box of goods.

"Father Gabriel," Nicole said indifferently. Tracey followed Nicole into the house.

"Where did he come from?" Tracey questioned.

"The road," she stated simply.

"You know what I meant. What area did he come from?" Tracey wondered.

Nicole shrugged. "Where's Alex?"

"Up in his room," Tracey said.

Nicole set the groceries on the kitchen counter and went to the stairs. Upstairs, she knocked on the door to Jason and Alex's room. A dark haired boy in his late teens answered the door.

"Can I come in?" she asked calmly. He moved away from the door to give her room. Jason was in the room as well. She didn't care. In fact, both of them could use the lecture. "We have a problem." Both men stood up ready for anything. That was good sign, Nicole thought to herself. "Someone want to tell me why we have missing food items from the store? Because I thought both of you locked your assigned doors." Jason's eyes immediately shifted to Alex. Alex's cheeks started turning pink. With a head gesture, Nicole signaled for Jason to leave. Alex stood there chewing on his thumbnail.

"Look, Nicole, I'm really sorry about the door. I thought I locked it," he immediately defended.

"If you weren't locking the door, what were you doing?" she asked.

"Like I said, I thought I locked the door well enough. Then I went to look at the books and magazines."

"Alex, I know all this isn't easy but we have to make sure everything is secure. We all know how quickly accidents can happen and then turn terribly wrong. Of all of us, I thought you would know that the most considering what happened." He gave her a hateful stare but then it faded into sadness and he nodded. "Come on downstairs. We have a new guest." Nicole patted him on the shoulder and they both went downstairs.


	4. Chapter 4 - Don't Force Anyone

Chapter 4 - Don't Force Anyone

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Father Gabriel," Nicole began. Her group had assembled in the living room to meet their new guest. "We ran into him on the road coming back here. His car was swarmed after he blew a tire." Some of the group offer smiles or nods in Gabriel's direction.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all, but I won't be staying long," Gabriel informed them. "I really must get back to my car and home."

"Why? Do you have people at your house?" Jason questioned. He had his arms crossed over his chest which was his normal stance.

"No, I don't," Gabriel answered. "I live alone." Everyone looked at him with same kind of puzzlement.

"You must really put your trust in God to live alone," April expressed apathetically.

"I do," Gabriel said confidently.

"Anyway," Nicole interjected, "some of us will be helping Gabriel fix his tire and be on his merry way. Do I have any volunteers?"

"Yeah, I'll go," Jack submitted immediately.

"Count me in," Jason chimed staring at Jack.

"Good! We leave in the morning." She waved her hand for everyone to go about their business. Some lingered others went back to their routines.

"In the morning?" Gabriel questioned.

"Yeah, Gabe," Nicole informed him. "It is too dangerous to go back out there now. It's going to be dark soon. At least in the daylight we can see the roamers coming from a distance."

Gabriel approached Nicole and spoke in a hushed voice, "Look, I really appreciate the hospitality but I need to get home."

"To what? You live alone. What's there that you have to get back to?" Nicole returned. Gabriel's face went from a worried grimace to relaxed realization. His eyes searched the floor for an answer but he found none. Nicole spoke again, "Just relax for once and enjoy some company." He merely nodded. "Hey, Tracey, when's dinner?"

"Half hour," the woman answered as she made her way into the kitchen through the dining room.

"Alex, set an extra place at the table," Nicole instructed the boy. She smiled at Gabriel and gave him a pat on the shoulder. He still looked uneasy. "I'll make a deal with you. Just have dinner with us and then I'll take you back to your car."

"Deal," Father Gabriel said without hesitation.

"Make yourself comfortable," Nicole said she gestured towards the living room.

"April, see what Father Gabriel would like to drink," Nicole told her before the girl headed up the stairs. April was 23 years old yet acted like she was 16. She was often moody since she lost her mother.

"Like there's a choice," April said disdainfully as she redirected her steps to the kitchen pass the stairs.

"At least we still have a choice. Most people just have water," Nicole said following her into the kitchen.

"What people? We haven't seen anyone for months, except for him today," April argued.

"You haven't," Nicole corrected. She glanced over at the pot Tracey was stirring on the stove. It ran on gas. Jack had checked it when they first moved in. It was quite full. It was one of the main reasons they moved into that particular house.

"You have?" April asked hopefully.

"Ask him if he would like to have lemonade or water," Nicole instructed dropping the topic.

"You're not going to answer me?" April flared. Nicole stared at the young woman.

"Just do as I ask," Nicole stated.

"More like command," April said under her breath as she went back into the living room.

"Why did you lie to her?" Tracey asked Nicole.

"To keep her hoping," she answered as she grabbed a raw carrot that Tracey was cutting up. She bit the tip off and chewed it. "Since her mom died, she's lost all hope. If she does that, she's dead."

"You certainly have a unique way with people," Tracey said with a smirk. Nicole shrugged and continued to munch on the carrot. April walked back into the kitchen.

"He would like some lemonade," she said leaning against the kitchen island.

"Okay, so get him a glass, pour some lemonade in it, and take it to him," Nicole told her. April just stared at her.

"April!" Tracey snapped at the girl.

"Fine," she said sheepishly.

"He is a guest in this house and you will treat him as such," Tracey imputed on her.

"Alright! Geez," April whined. Tracey gave her a look. April rolled her eyes and then said, "Yes, ma'am."

Nicole bit her tongue as April prepared the drink. When she was out of the kitchen for the second time, Nicole turned to Tracey and said, "Looks like I'm not the only one who has a way with people." The two women snickered.

Nicole went to inform Jack and Jason of the new plan to leave right after dinner to take Father Gabriel to his vehicle.

At dinner, Jack asked Father Gabriel to offer a blessing over their meal. As Nicole looked around the table, she couldn't help reminisce about how each one of them sitting at that table had come to be there. She and Tracey had escaped the prison she was being held in. They had discovered Jason first a few days later. He was scavenging food from a dumpster with his father and younger brother. Nicole saved Jason when they were overrun by a pack of roamers. Tim, Jason's father, tried to grab Aaron, his youngest son, from the grips of a roamer. Both were overcome quickly. Jack and Lance were next but not for a few weeks. The two men came upon their mediocre camp and offered help to make a more substantial camp. Then, Alex was found sitting on the curb in front of his house. He explained his parents went out looking for supplies but never returned. His older sister had been taken from their house a couple of weeks earlier. Their house was broken into by Raiders. He hid. When all was quiet, he came out and she was gone. He was sitting there hoping she would return. Jack had been the one to persuade him to leave the house. April and her mom, Jeanette, were the last to join. Jeanette had been looking for food when she came across their camp. She begged that they at least take her daughter in, if not her. They were both invited into their group. Unfortunately, just before they arrived at their current location, Jeanette went foraging for nuts, berries, anything edible. She had been a botanist. She drifted away from them too far. A small group of roamers discovered her, she went to run and backed up over a log causing her to fall. When she hit the ground, her knife was jolted from her hand. She couldn't get her footing to run. Tracey tried to get to her, but it was too late. April saw the whole thing. She wanted to officially end her mother's life but she couldn't do it. Nicole unceremoniously took the honors. Now, they were temporarily joined by Father Gabriel who didn't fight against the roamers. Nicole shook her head and finished her meal.

After dinner, Jack came into the kitchen to refill two glasses of lemonade. He took them out to the front porch. Nicole was leaning against the railing smoking a cigarette. He handed her a glass. She took it with her free hand.

"Cheers," she said then took a sip.

"Cheers," he said quietly.

"What's up, Jack? I can tell something is on your mind," Nicole said now leaning her backside against the railing as he leaned forward on it with his forearms. He stared at the glass gripped in his hands.

"I don't think we should help him with his tire. I think he needs to stay here with us," Jack put forth. Nicole nodded as she inhaled the drag she just took.

"I agree but it's not up to me," Nicole stated blowing smoke out as she spoke. "You know I don't force anyone against their will to do anything. If he doesn't want to stay, he shouldn't have to. I already tried to get him to stay the night. He really wants to get back to his home."

"The man is alone, Nicole. How can you consciously allow him to return to solitude with the roamers out there? That's like leaving him to die," Jack argued.

"Jack, if that is what he wants, then let him," Nicole stated smoothly.

"It's not right!" Jack said his voice raised.

"But it's right to him. Whatever propels him to live alone, has kept him alive, be it God or some other force of nature," Nicole voiced. Jack huffed with frustration. "You can talk to him, see if he'll stay, but I doubt it. Fair?"

"Yeah," Jack answered then took a sip of his lemonade. He then made his way inside.

Nicole put her cigarette out. She looked to the sky. The daylight was fading. It would be night in an hour or so. She gulped down her lemonade and took the empty glass inside.

Nicole and the three men gathered around the van. Lance stood by the gate ready to open it. Each one had a weapon with them, except Father Gabriel. Nicole slipped into the driver's seat while Jason got into the back right behind Nicole. Jack stood on the outside and began talking with Gabriel trying to persuade him to stay.

"You think he'll get him to stay?" Jason asked in Nicole's ear. He had leaned forward in his seat with arms folded over the back of hers. His breath teased her earlobe. She looked at him in the rearview mirror. He was very close to her.

"No," answered Nicole. "I don't know why, but Gabe is insistent on going back."

"Maybe it's good he's going back," Jason said, "It would just be another mouth to feed."

"That's one way to look at it," Nicole replied, "But you know the rules, if someone wants to stay, they stay, they want to go, they go," She turned her head towards him. "Aren't you glad you followed your father instead of going off on your own?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I am," he answered returning the smile. Even though he smiled, she saw a shadow pass over his face at the mention of his father.

The doors opened. Gabe and Jack got into the van. "Let's go," Jack stated. "We're losing daylight." He seemed a bit agitated. Evidently, he could not convince Gabe to stay. Nicole started the van without comment.

Speeding down the road and avoiding roamers, Nicole followed the path she had taken earlier to get them home. She found Gabe's car again in about ten minutes, clear of any roamers, except for the ones they had killed earlier. Everyone got out of the van and helped clear the dead ones away from the car. Jack and Gabe replaced the tire while Nicole and Jason kept a look out for walkers. A few drifted in their vicinity. They took out the few that got really close. By the time the new tire was on, the sun was setting casting darkness around them.

"I appreciate your help and hospitality, Nicole," Gabe said. "I pray that God watches over you all."

"Thanks, Gabe," Nicole said with a weak smile. She had given up on God a while ago, but understood it was important to Gabe. "If you ever need anything, you know where to find us." He nodded.

She and Jason got into the van. Jack shook Gabe's hand before getting in. Nicole made sure Gabe was in his own vehicle and it started before they left to return to their home.

Father Gabriel watched them drive off. He then drove off himself, not wanting to linger. At a crossroads, he knew Nicole had gone straight. He took a right turn. Traveling down the darkened roads, he kept his eyes out for roamers. He drove a few minutes when he rounded a curve, there, in the middle of the road was a roamer. He turned his steering wheel abruptly to narrowly avoid hitting it. He glanced at it in his rear view mirror. Suddenly, something caught his attention through the windshield. It was another one? He slammed on his breaks. It wasn't another walker it was his dog. Quickly, he opened the door and the dog hopped in.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you since we went shopping. I thought I lost you," he asked happily rubbing the dog's head. His dog was once white, now dirty from lack of ability to give him a bath. The dog was also missing an eye. "Come on, let's go home."

The house wasn't far now. He continued on the road for another mile. Black darkness surrounded the property as he came to the long driveway. A faint light shown over the estate from the quarter moon. Only the bluish gray glow of the tombstones in the rear of the house could be seen dotting the yard. It really wasn't his house, but the owner had disappeared long before Gabriel discovered it. He backed his car into the drive. It was a habit he had gotten into, just in case things went bad. He stopped the car and opened the door. His dog, Pirate, jumped out of the car and went galloping to the front door. Gabriel opened the trunk of the car to get the groceries he had picked up from the store that he had learned Nicole's group had claimed.

A loud whimper came from Pirate as the dog ran back towards the car. Gabriel looked up. He then noticed the sounds of groans and moans coming from the house. Roamers!

"Come on, girl," Gabriel shouted as he saw the dog running towards him in the distance.

At the same time, a girl ran out of the house. She had a slight limp and wasn't running very fast. She saw Gabriel and started towards him. At that time, a roamer came out of the woods to his right. She was coming from the left. Gabriel could only stand there and watch the collision happen. The roamer grabbed for her. Having a weak foot, it easily pushed her over. Her bag went crashing onto the driveway. Pirate saw the roamer attack the girl. Instead of biting at the roamer, she tried to pull the girl away by dragging her by the wrist. The girl screamed out trying to kick at the roamer and get the dog off of her.

"Pirate! No!" Gabriel yelled but still kept his distance from the scene. Pirate let go of the girl. Finally, the girl was able to stand up again and ran right to Gabriel.

"You've gotta help me! Daryl's still in there," the blonde cried holding onto her wrist. It was visibly bleeding.

"Daryl? Who's Daryl?" Gabriel said. He was still in a daze from watching the roamer attacking her.

"He's my friend. Please!" she pleaded.

"I . . . I . . . can't," Gabriel stammered as he looked over her shoulder at the roamer making its way towards them.

"Why not?" she asked angrily. "Don't you have a weapon? There must be something in your trunk."

She went to look into the trunk. The geek was approaching; it was close. Gabriel panicked. He pushed the girl into the trunk and closed the lid. He ran to get into the car. He turned the key and started out the driveway. That's when Pirate ran in front of him again. He quickly stopped the car and opened his door. The dog quickly got in. He shut the door again. Slamming his foot onto the accelerator he left the house, left the driveway, left Daryl, whoever he was.

Gabe didn't know if she was injured badly by Pirate's bite. He didn't know the first thing about first aid. There was only one group he knew of that could help her. He drove towards the house he had just left. As he sped away, he hoped she wouldn't die in the car. He didn't know how much air was in the trunk. He couldn't put her down if she turned. His engine roared as he beared down on the accelerator.

"God, please don't let her die," he prayed as he turned right onto the main road. He was now on the same path Nicole had taken to her group's house. When he reached their road he turned left. "Come on, hold on, girl," he begged.

He rounded a curve in the road and could see the high fence around his destination. He drove right into the driveway and stopped. He didn't want to get out, afraid of the roamers he attracted with the noise from his car. His only other choice was to honk his horn to let the people inside the fence deal with it. He pressed the center of his steering wheel.

Nicole, Jack, and Jason had just entered the house when the car horn blared, not once, but multiple times to a sort of panicked rhythm.

"What the hell?" Nicole exclaimed as she rushed back out.

With her gun drawn, she approached the gate. She carefully unlatched it and peered outside.

"Shit!" she said to herself. "I need help out here!" she yelled back towards the house. Jack, Jason, and Lance came running out. Seeing her pistol out, they armed themselves as well with tools leaning against the inside of the fence.

"What's the matter," Jason asked hurriedly.

"Gabe's out there," she informed them with a shake of her head in disbelief. "Roamers are coming in. That car horn didn't help. Come on," she said as she pushed the fence open.

Jason pushed passed the other men to join Nicole with a metal baseball bat in his hand. He swung at the first geek he saw, smashing its head. He wore a bit of a smile as the body collapsed to the ground.

"Home run!" he shouted as another advanced on him.

The other men battled the walking corpses with their melee weapons as well, Jack with his pipe wrench and Lance with a machete. Nicole went to the driver's side door and pulled it open abruptly pointing her pistol at the priest. Pirate jumped out of the car. Nicole aimed for the dog.

"Don't shoot my dog!" Gabriel implored. Nicole let the dog go returning her aim at Father Gabriel. "I'm sorry about the noise," Father Gabriel apologized with his hands in the air. "It was the only thing I had to get your attention. There's an injured girl." Nicole checked through the windows of the car.

"Where?" she asked. Gabriel swallowed hard.

"In the trunk," he said sheepishly.

"Get out!" she yelled at him. He did. She pushed him with the muzzle of her gun towards the rear of his car. "Open it!" Again, he did what she told him to do. There girl flinched as the trunk opened.

"Lance! I need you," Nicole said as she turned towards the men. He glanced at her and she waved him over.

There was a creak as the fence opened again. This time Tracey emerged after hearing the commotion. She had a shovel in her hand and helped take out the geeks as Lance approached the car.

"We have an injured girl," Nicole informed Lance as he peered inside the trunk. "Tracey, who's at the gate?"

"Alex!" she yelled back as she swung her shovel sideways slicing into a geeks head.

By the time Nicole turned to look at Lance he had the girl in his arms. With the pistol still to Gabriel's back, she pushed him towards the gate.

"Alex, open the gate!" Lance yelled as he rushed towards it.

"Everyone in!" Nicole yelled to everyone else. The others turned to abandon the remaining roamers to seek the refuge behind the fence. Even the dog followed them inside. Jason was the last one to enter after taking the time to beat one more geek to a pulp. He laughed as he pranced through the gate.

Lance and Tracey already had the girl sitting by the dining room table when Nicole entered the house still with the pistol jabbed into Gabe's back. Lance had out his jump bag. Everyone else was congregated in the living room. April sat on the steps looking into the living room after watching everyone enter. Alex sat with a book in his lap on the couch that separated the living room from the dining room.

"Please, don't hurt me," the blonde girl pleaded.

"We're not going to hurt you. We're going to help you," Lance said. He pulled out the bandages and gauze to show her.

"Oh," she replied timidly.

"What's your name?" Lance asked her.

"Beth," she replied.

"Sit down," Nicole ordered Gabe. He sat down on the couch. Jason came around Nicole and stood on Gabriel's other side. "Why was she in the trunk of your car?"

"I . . . panicked," he began, "There were undead everywhere. My house was surrounded. Then the girl came running out. One of those things came out of the woods. They collided. Pirate, my dog, tried to pull her away from it. She finally let go, the girl ran to my car, the trunk was open . . ."

"And you just pushed me into your trunk?" Beth yelled. Everyone turned to her, except for Nicole. She had her gun still raised on Gabriel.

"I didn't know what else to do," Father Gabriel tried to explain. "I . . . the roamer . . . was so close. I didn't want anything to happen to you or me.

"But you left my friend!" Beth screamed, "You just drove off. How could you do that? Especially you, a man of God. Ouch!"

"Sorry," Lance said as he tried to take care of her arm as she was yelling at Father Gabriel.

"You're right. How could I do that," was the only thing Gabriel said. He lowered his head and sat there looking at his hands in his lap.

Nicole holstered her gun. She could see something else haunted him.

"I need to find my friend. I need to go back," Beth said frantically looking at Nicole. It was obvious to her that Nicole was their leader. Nicole finally looked at her.

"Don't worry, I'll take you," Nicole reassured her. She would want Beth to go back to look for one of her own if the role was reversed.

"Daryl's a tracker. He would have followed the car's path," Beth explained. She kept looking at Lance bandaging her arm hoping he would finish soon.

"That's good. We may meet up with him on our way to him," Nicole said.

"He won't stop lookin'," Beth said. Nicole deducted that she said that more for herself than for them.

"Lance, you just about done?" Nicole questioned.

"Almost," Lance said wrapping tape around Beth's wrist.

"Can you please hurry?" Beth asked quietly.

"All done, baby girl," he said with a slight smile ripping the tape.

Nicole went over to Father Gabriel and tapped him on the foot with her boot. He slowly looked up at her.

"You're coming with us," she informed him.

"Me? Why?" he questioned remorsefully.

"You have to lead me back to where you live. Beth can't do it because she was in the trunk of your car," Nicole snarled at him.

"I can't. I can't go back there."

"You don't have a choice. You didn't give Beth a choice either." Nicole eyed him angrily.

Father Gabriel stared at her a moment then nodded with acceptance.

"Let's go," Nicole said softly.

Beth stood up and walked towards Nicole. Both watched Father Gabriel stand up slowly. He avoided Beth's eyes. He felt guilty for what he had done to her. Beth only wanted to know why he had done it that way. He could have just let her get in the car, but shoving her into the trunk meant something to him. Nicole moved to go outside. Beth and Gabriel followed.

"Was it just you and Daryl?" Nicole asked Beth as they went to the gate.

"What?" Beth asked in surprise.

"In the house, just you and Daryl?" Nicole asked again.

"Yeah," Beth answered.

"Were there more?" Nicole asked placing her left palm on the gate.

"Yeah, we got separated. Daryl and I were looking for them," Beth answered not dwelling in details of the fall of the prison.

"Well, let's go find Daryl so you can find the rest of your group," Nicole offered kindly opening the gate.


	5. Chapter 5 - Can't Go Back

Chapter 5 - Can't Go Back

Beth and Daryl sat around a small fire. There was minimal heat coming from it. Neither were sleeping in the early morning hours of the day after the fall of the prison. Daryl stared into the fire. Beth stared at him.

"We should do somethin'," Beth began, "We should do somethin'. We aren't the only survivors. We can't be." Daryl didn't stir. His only thought was of Shawna. There was no possible way she could have survived passed the Governor's onslaught let alone the bullets coming from the prison as well. She most likely was killed in the crossfire.

"Rick, Michonne, they could be out here," Beth stated matter-of-factly. "Maggie and Glenn could have made it out of A block. They could've. Shawna. She could have escaped from the Governor." At the mention of her name, Daryl's eyes popped up and stared at Beth. They were emotionless but deep inside he ached, mostly for Shawna, but for everyone else too.

Beth was happy to see him react to something.

"You're a tracker. You can track," she said as she stood up. "Come on! The sun will be up soon. If we head out now, we can . . . ."

Daryl looked away from her. He knew no amount of tracking would locate Shawna, if she hadn't gotten away. He didn't even know where to begin to look for her, if she had gotten away. He certainly wasn't going back to the prison. Not if she was dead. He didn't want to remember her that way.

"Fine!" Beth yelled at him. "If you won't track, I will." She grabbed up his knife from where he had thrown it into the ground with the sheath and set out into the woods. Daryl considered letting her go out on her own. He could be alone again. He didn't need anyone. That was a lie. Everyone needed someone, even if it was some hope crazed girl. He got up and kicked dirt over the fire putting it out. He grabbed up his crossbow, then, he set off after Beth.

* * *

Shawna tried to sleep but it never came to her. She cried for a while in the tree she had climbed in to secure herself from walkers. The torch light that ignited in her heart burned for her to keep moving. Gradually she climbed down to within arms reach of the undead bodies. She had to carefully hold on to the tree as she knifed the walkers that accumulated at the bottom. There were only three of them. Saving bullets was always a priority. Now, not attracting more walkers with the sound of gunfire trumped saving ammunition. She was alone. She could easily be overrun by a herd.

Once she was on the ground, and safe for the time being, Shawna listened. Maybe someone was near that she might be able to hear, a conversation, snapping of twigs as someone walked, or possibly the rustle of a bush as someone looked for something to eat. There was only silence. Making her way through the woods not really knowing where she was going, Shawna hoped she would meet up with someone, anyone. Mostly, she thought about Daryl. He had to have gotten away. He was resilient like that. He wouldn't give up. She only hoped he hadn't given up on her. She looked for any sign of life as she walked. Scanning into the distance between the trees she searched for an amber glow. Maybe someone had a fire going she might happen to catch a glimpse. There was only darkness. She thought she might even try her hand at tracking. She squatted and examined the ground below her. She looked for footprints using only her eyes that had adjusted to the darkness. How she wished she had a flashlight. Even the grin of the moon offered her no assistance as it was blocked by the canopy of foliage above her. Quickly, she gave up tracking not having any light to aid her. The only thing pushing her to move on was the burning torch that pulled at her heartstrings. This beacon of inner light propelled her onward in a sort of direction. There were times when she would move left but it didn't feel quite right so she moved right and felt the embers burning stronger. Finally, after hours of walking, the sun crept over the horizon throwing blades of light through the chinks in the vegetation. Although, the light now offered her an advantage, she still relied on the flaming instinct inside her heart.

It wasn't long after the sun had risen when she heard the scream. She ran towards it. It sounded like an attack. There were more screams. Then another sound came to her and it was closer. It was a baby's cry. It was on her right. It had to be Judith, at least she hoped it was. She ran in that direction. Whoever was being attacked would perish before she even got there anyway. As she got closer she saw the two small figures and two walkers making their way towards the girls. Lizzie was holding Judith and Mika had a gun raised. She ran at full speed towards them. Mika fired the gun but missed the walker. Shawna came up behind the walkers and slammed her knife into the skull of the walker nearest the children. Then she took out the remaining walker.

"Shawna!" Mika exclaimed and ran towards her. Lizzie slowly turned around.

"Are you girls out here alone?" she asked catching her breath as Mika threw her hands around Shawna's waist.

"No, we're with Tyreese," Lizzie said eyeing the two bludgeoned walkers.

"Here, let me take Judith," Shawna offered holding her arms out towards Lizzie. She easily handed the baby over to the woman. "Are you okay? Where is Tyreese?"

"We're fine. We heard shouts. He thought it might be someone from the prison in trouble. He told us to stay here," Lizzie informed her.

"Come on," Shawna said starting to walk towards the screams she had been following. "Which way did he go?" Lizzie pointed out the way. He had gone in the same direction of the screams Shawna heard moments earlier.

The two girls rushed along with woman to the edge of the woods. Shawna could see railroad tracks ahead of them. She heard Tyreese fighting against something. She assumed he was fighting walkers. Finally, she saw him as they cleared the brush and stood on the small embankment.

"Watch out!" Tyreese warned the man but the walker was already sinking its teeth into his neck. The man managed to throw the walker off and Tyreese attacked it with his hammer. There were a few dead bodies on the ground.

"Tyreese!" Shawna called out to him when the walker fell. Tyreese turned around.

"How?" Tyreese muttered. He went over to her. "How did you find us? Where were you? I thought you were . . .?" The man that had been bitten moaned loudly before Shawna could answer. Tyreese and Shawna looked over at him.

"Stay here girls," Shawna instructed them. She walked over to the man.

"Stay on the tracks," the man suggested. "That was my mistake."

"But the woods have more cover," Shawna told the man.

"No, you don't understand," the man said breathlessly, "There's a place up the tracks. It's safe. You can take the children there. Trust me, please. Follow the tracks."

Shawna was unsure but her concern for the children's safety outweighed her own. They left the man and started walking along the tracks. She held onto Judith as she kept her eyes forward on the tracks. In her peripheral vision, Tyreese kept looking at her with concern. He was about to say something when Mika slowed her pace and walked beside him.

"Tyreese? I didn't run," Mika spoke. "I didn't leave Lizzie."

"See there?" he responded, "Tough little lady."

The girl smiled. Again, Tyreese looked over at Shawna. She looked tired and he noticed the only things she had on her were her knife and rifle.

"Hey," he said to her, "There is some water in there." He pointed behind himself to the backpack slung on his shoulders. She handed Judith to him. They stopped and she dug into the backpack for the water.

As she was drinking, Tyreese turned around and said to her, "I didn't see you get out. I thought you . . ."

"Think I was the last one out," she interrupted. "Tyreese, I wasn't on his side. I took down . . . a lot of his soldiers," she said with a slight hesitation. She had also taken out his girlfriend and didn't know how to tell him just yet. "I thought I lost everyone."

"But you found us," Lizzie said cheerfully. Shawna slightly smiled at the girl.

"Hey, maybe we could circle back and get one of the cars," Tyreese suggested.

"Do you really want to go back to that? The walkers and the fire . . .? I can't go back to a graveyard," Shawna said sadly. She took Judith from Tyreese and continued to move on. Tyreese understood. The girls rushed ahead.

Shawna watched as Mika and Lizzie clasped hands and walked together. She wondered who was holding on to whom? Was Lizzie holding on to her little sister's hand needing the comfort of family? Or was Mika holding on needing the strength of family? The question of Lizzie's misunderstanding of the walkers was still out there and it bothered Shawna.

"Look!" Lizzie said as she pointed to a sign posted over an old railway marker.

When they reached it, Mika read it aloud, "Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive, survive." A star sat in the middle of the map with the word "Terminus" written beside it. The girls looked hopeful. Tyreese nodded. Only Shawna was skeptical.

* * *

Carl stood by Rick's feet as he lay on the dusty brown couch that was pushed against the front door.

"I killed three walkers," Carl started to say. There was no response from Rick. "They were at the door. They were gonna get in, but I lured them away. I killed them. I saved you. I saved you!"

Rick laid there. His breath was shallow if there was any breath at all. Deep in Carl's mind he thought his father might be dead.

"I didn't forget while you had us playing farmer. I still know how to survive. Lucky for us. I don't need you anymore," he said defiantly. "I don't need you to protect me anymore. I can take care of myself. You probably can't even protect me anyways. You couldn't protect Judith! You couldn't protect Hershel, or Glenn, or Maggie. Michonne, Daryl, Shawna, or Mom," he added finitely. The thought of his mother made him sad. His anger subsided for a moment.

"You just wanted to plant vegetables. You just wanted to hide. He knew where we were and you didn't care! Shawna knew he was coming! You just hid behind those fences and waited for . . . ," he paused. Flashbacks of the battle entered his mind. "They're all gone now. Because of you! They counted on you! You were their leader!" he yelled at his father. Rick remained still. Carl sat on the floor by the couch and began to cry. "But now, you're nothing."

Carl finally stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He dumped the contents of his bag onto the floor. "I'd be fine if you died," he said to Rick before heading out the door.

* * *

"So, first I say something I've never done and if you've done it, you drink, and if you haven't, I drink. Then we switch," Beth explained the drinking game. Daryl looked a bit lost. "You really don't know this game?"

"I ain't never needed a game to get lit before," Daryl answered scratching lightly at his chin.

"Wait, are we startin'?" Beth asked him thinking he was being funny. She realized he wasn't.

"How do you know this game?" he questioned now knowing she had never drank before.

"My friends played. I watched," she replied. "Okay, I'll start. I've never shot a crossbow. Now, you drink."

"Ain't much of a game," Daryl commented. He thought it was a bit lame if you just stated facts that were obvious. Daryl took a drink of moonshine from the Mason jar.

"That was a warm up. Now, you go," she pressed hoping he would join in. Just drinking to drink wasn't very interesting.

"Uh, I dunno," he said with a shrug.

"Just say the first thing that pops into your head," Beth suggested.

Giving in, Daryl stated, "I've never been outta Georgia."

"Really? Okay. Good one," Beth replied. She took a sip of moonshine from her cup.

"I've never been drunk and did somethin' I regretted," she stated. She didn't know much about Daryl but this game would help her reveal something about him.

"I've done a lot of things," he commented but didn't go into detail. He thought of the times before when he was with Merle.

"Your turn," she stated. She was getting excited.

"I've never been on vacation," Daryl stated.

"What about campin'?" Beth questioned surmising that's where he learned to be an outdoorsman.

"No. That was just somethin' I had to learn to hunt," Daryl answered rubbing his bristled chin.

"Did your dad teach you?" she questioned.

"Mm, hmm," Daryl answered.

"Okay," Beth said taking a drink because she had lost that round. Then she tried to think of something else he might have done in his past. "I've never been in jail. I mean as a prisoner," she said with a slight laugh. Daryl stared hard at her.

"Is that what you think of me?" he asked with stone eyes.

"I didn't mean anything serious. I just thought, you know, like the drunk tank. Even my dad got locked up for that back in the day," Beth explained herself to him.

"Drink up," Daryl said with a flourish of his finger in her direction. The questions reminded him of how Shawna got to know him. At least her questions never accused him of being a bad person. Maybe he was bad and this girl was calling him out.

"Wait! Prison guard, were you a prison guard before?" she asked. Beth and Zach had been curious as to what Daryl did before the turn. Zach would relay his information back to Beth. Now she was just continuing on with the game.

"No," he answered shortly. He missed Shawna.

"It's your turn again," she said with a smile. Daryl was done with games.

"I'm gonna take a piss," he said crudely. He stood up and walked towards the darkened corner of the room. On his way over there he dropped his jar of moonshine on the floor. It shattered.

"Shh, you have to be quiet," Beth reminded him.

"Can't hear ya! I'm takin' a piss!" he said angrily as he unfastened his pants.

"Daryl, don't talk so loud," Beth with a bit of force in her soft voice.

"What? Are you my chaperone now?" he spitefully questioned as urine splashed at his feet on to the rotten floor boards of the dilapidated house. She turned her head away from him with a huff.

"Oh, wait! It's my turn, right?" Daryl shot at her as he turned around zippering up his pants. The alcohol had gone to his head already. "I've never, uh . . . never eaten frozen yogurt. Never had a pet pony. Never got nothing from Santa Claus!" In his booze fueled anger he knocked over the recliner. He stared at her and continued his rant, "Never relied on anyone for protection before. Hell, I don't think I've ever relied on anyone for anything!"

"Daryl," Beth said timidly.

"Never sung out in front of a big group out in public like everything was fun. Like everything was a big game. I sure as hell never cut my wrists looking for attention," he growled at her as he paced like a caged tiger. He knew what she was playing at. Now he was turning the tables on her, calling her out on all her faults. He boisterous voice had attracted a walker that snarled outside.

"Sounds like our friend out there is trying to call all of his buddies," Daryl snidely said kicking a can that lay on the trash covered floor.

"Daryl, just shut up," Beth seethed through clenched teeth.

"Hey, you never shot a crossbow before?" he asked grabbing his weapon from the shelf he had propped it on while he urinated. "I'm gonna teach you right now. Come on. It's gonna be fun."

Daryl grabbed her wrist and yanked her up from the floor. Now it was his turn to officiate the game.

"We should stay inside," Beth protested as she pulled against him. He pulled her out and down off the front porch. "Daryl, cut it out! Daryl!"

He finally let go of her once he eyed the walker growling at the window. The walker moved towards them hearing Beth's outcry.

"Dumbass. Come 'ere, dumbass," Daryl croaked loudly. He shot the preloaded bolt into the right shoulder of the walker pinning it to a tree. He quickly pulled the string back holding the stirrup with his foot.

"Daryl," Beth said with bewilderment. She wondered where this rage was coming from and what it was about.

"You wanna shoot?" he challenged as he placed a new bolt into the slot.

"I don't know how," Beth answered hoping he would stop all this before something bad happened.

"Aww, it's easy. Come 'ere," he said grabbing her around the neck pressing the butt of the crossbow into her shoulder. "Right corner." He pulled the trigger and the bolt. It hit the walker in the left thigh. He let go of her to reload the crossbow.

Beth tried to defuse the situation by saying, "Let's practice later."

"Come on. It's fun," he said. Her plan didn't work. Daryl started loading another bolt.

"Just stop it," Beth screamed frantically. "Daryl!"

"Come 'ere," he said taking her around the neck again. "Eight ball." The bolt thrummed into the chest of the walker.

"Just kill it!" Beth pleaded.

"Come 'ere, Greene. Let's pull these out. Get a little more target practice." He let her go and starting to move towards the walker. Beth quickly made her way around Daryl and thrust the knife into the walkers head. It's head lulled to one side.

"What the hell you do that for? I was having fun!" Daryl snarled.

"No, you were being a jackass," Beth spat. "If anyone found my dad . . . ."

"Don't!" Daryl snapped, "That ain't remotely the same."

"Killing them is not suppose to be fun," Beth flared.

"What do ya want from me, girl, huh?" Daryl demanded getting into her face. He had said a similar thing to Shawna once upon a time. His heart ached.

"I want you to stop actin' like you don't give a crap about anythin'," she returned forcefully. "Like nothin' we went through matters. Like none of the people we lost meant anything to you. It's bullshit!"

"Is that what you think?" Daryl asked knowing in his mind the one thing that mattered most to him was most likely dead or worse, turned. Tears were starting to burn behind his eyes.

"That's what I know." Tears welled in her eyes.

"You don't know nothin'!" His voice cracked.

"I know you look at me and you just see another dead girl. I'm not Michonne. I'm not Maggie. I'm sure as hell not Shawna. I've survived and you don't get it 'cause I'm not like you or them. But I made it and you don't get to treat me like crap just because you're afraid."

"I ain't afraid of nothin'."

"I remember, when that little girl came out of the barn, after my mom. You were like me. And now, God forbid you ever let anybody get too close."

"Too close, huh?" he spoke, his voice unable to keep steady as he thought of Sophia and then thinking Shawna had turned out the same way. "You know all about that. You lost two boyfriends, you can't even shed a tear. Your whole family's gone, all you can do is just go out looking for hooch like some dumb college bitch."

"Screw you," she said back at him, "You don't get it."

"No, you don't get it!" Daryl barked at her. "Everyone we know is dead!"

"You don't know that!"

"Might as well be, 'cause you ain't never gonna see 'em again! Rick, Shawna." He named them because they were the closest to him. "You ain't never gonna see Maggie again!"

"Daryl, just stop!"

"No!" He turned abruptly from her. He didn't want her to see the tears falling down his face. "The Governor rolled right up to our gates. Shawna was standin' right there with him. Maybe if I wouldn't've stopped lookin'. Maybe if I hadn't let 'er go to that meetin'. That's on me!"

"Daryl," Beth said consolingly trying to put a hand on his shoulder.

"No," he said as he pulled away from her pushing her hand away. "And your dad. May-maybe I could have done something."

Beth rushed him and hugged him from behind. He couldn't and didn't push her away. Bowing his head, he the let the tears freely flow. The one true love he had had was gone. The family that he never had before was gone. His heart ached. He didn't know how to deal with that. Beth then understood he was hiding his grief and let him cry. She knew if he could have saved any of them, or all of them, he would have. Now, she discovered how much Shawna had meant to him. She hoped the woman was still alive out there for him, just as she hoped Maggie was out there for her.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Way We Came

Chapter 6 - The Way We Came

Jack joined Nicole in case they ran into problems. Beth was now one handed and Gabriel didn't fight against the roamers. It wasn't that she couldn't handle herself. She had proven that or more than one occasion. It was more for assistance in case Daryl wasn't a saint. Jason wanted to go as well but Nicole had to tell him to stay behind. There wasn't room in the car for them all. He wasn't happy about it. Lance said he was going to maneuver the van around so the car could be pulled into the fenced area once they returned.

Nicole made Gabriel sit shotgun. Beth was in the backseat with Jack but she sat in the middle looking out the windshield to have a full view of the road in case they came upon her friend.

"What does Daryl look like, Beth?" Nicole asked as she drove.

"Uh, brown hair, blue eyes, carries a crossbow, uh, and he has a leather vest with wings on the back," she stated.

"Was he carrying anything else?" Nicole questioned.

"No."

"A'right. Everyone heard the description. Keep your eyes peeled. You too, Gabe," Nicole commanded. He nodded, then pointed ahead.

"Make a right up here," Gabe instructed as they came to the end of their street.

Beth looked out her window further up the road in case Daryl had bypassed the street. It as difficult to see with only a half moon showing. Nicole made the turn after she glanced up the road as well. They continued on for a few minutes until they came to the crossroads where Gabriel told her to make a left. Now they were on the road that lead to the house Gabriel had been staying in. Still, there was no sign of Daryl, or at least Beth showed no emotion that there were any signs of him. The only thing Nicole saw was worry in the girl's eyes.

"We're here," Gabe spoke in the silence.

Nicole saw the driveway and slowed the vehicle. She stopped the car at the mouth of the driveway. Roamers still swarmed the house.

"Let me out," Beth said frantically.

"Whoa, no one is going anywhere," Nicole said.

"I need to see if he is in there."

"Beth, you can't go in there with one arm and a limp. That's a herd of roamers. No one is going in that house. And no one is coming out of it."

Nicole had spoken the truth. No one was getting out of that house now. It would be impossible. If he was still in there, he was gone.

"I . . . I want to see the outside. I want to look for footprints. Maybe he left a sign," Beth put forth.

Nicole glanced at Jack in the rearview mirror. He nodded. She turned around in her seat to address Beth.

"Fine. But I go with you," Nicole informed her. Beth nodded.

She opened the door and got out. Beth jumped out of the back as soon as Nicole pushed the seat forward. Nicole left the door open afraid the noise of it closing would attract some of the roamers. Nicole took out her flashlight and the two started looking on the ground beside the car.

"There are definitely footprints. Which ones are his and which ones are roamers?" Nicole stated quietly.

"Walkers tend to drag their feet 'cause of lack of muscle mass," Beth informed her in a hushed voice. "Stop."

Nicole stopped the sweeping motion of the flashlight. Beth pointed to a visible imprint of a shoe that was not scuffed as were so many others. She grinned.

"He went that way, the way we came," Beth said.

"Then we go to the end of the road and search again," Nicole said returning the smile.

The ladies got back into the car where the two men were sitting idly.

"Find anything?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, but we'll need to stop again to look for more footprints. Looks like he headed after the car after you left," Nicole said looking at Gabriel.

Gabriel showed only guilt as he glanced over at Nicole. She shifted the car into the reverse gear, used the driveway to turn around, and went back the way they came. She stopped at the end of the road and again, she and Beth got out of the car to search. This time, Nicole discovered the solid footprint. They returned to the car quickly.

"What's in that direction?" Nicole asked Gabriel pointing straight ahead of them.

"Not much. There is a railroad crossing," he explained.

Nicole sat for a moment thinking. Jack sat and watched her. Beth was getting more frantic. Nicole started shaking her head.

"Let's just go. He might be just up the road," Beth encouraged.

"You said Daryl was a tracker, right? That means he hunts. If he thinks he has lost you, he'll make camp. But he's not going to do that on the road, he'll do it in the woods. We won't be able to find him tonight. It's too dark. We don't have the proper equipment. We'll have to pick up the trail tomorrow morning, early," Nicole voiced.

"We can't just leave him!" Beth cried.

"Do you know Daryl well, Beth?" Jack asked. She turned to him and nodded. "Think about what he would do. Maybe Nicole is right. I'm sure he can take care of himself for one night."

Beth rubbed the tears from her cheeks and thought for a moment. She knew he could fend for himself and that he probably would make camp for the night thinking he could never catch up to the car. He was just the last one she had to hold on to from her group. The others were dead or missing. She knew nothing about this group but something told her to trust them. Slowly, she nodded as she looked at Nicole in the rearview mirror. Nicole turned the wheel in the direction of home.

When they were secured behind the fence at home, they slowly made their way into the house. Pirate greeted them. Beth kept her distance cradling her wrist as she walked up the steps of the porch. She was still distraught that they had not proceeded in following Daryl's path. She gripped at the bit of hope that he did make camp for the night near the intersection. She held onto herself as she stood just inside the door not sure which direction to go feeling like an outsider. Jack rubbed her shoulder in assurance. The smile she returned to him was one of thanks laced with insecurity. He gestured to the couch for her to sit. Gabriel had taken a seat on the large couch. Pirate sat at his feet.

"I take it you didn't find him?" Tracey asked quietly of Nicole. They stood just to the side of the stairs that greeted everyone that walked in through the door.

"No, but we found his tracks. I figured out he's a hunter which means he can survive in the wilderness for one night. We're going out tomorrow to continue the search," Nicole informed Tracey.

"And she's not happy about it," Tracey said indicating Beth. Jack was talking with Beth quietly on the couch at the moment.

"Of course not, but I couldn't risk our lives out there. The herd at Gabriel's house was large. We didn't have the weapons to take out a group like that."

Nicole glanced at Beth with concern. She understood the worry in Beth's eyes. If one of her group and herself were all that remained, she would want to cling on to them as well. Tracey went over to talk to Beth and offered the girl her bed for the night since she would be on guard duty. Tracey shared a room with April. Beth looked close in age to April; it would be a good match. Nicole knew in the back of her mind Beth didn't want to stay here. She wanted familiarity. She wanted her friend back.

Then, Nicole's eyes fell on Gabriel. He cowered into the corner of the couch that backed against the open space leading to the dining room creating a wall in of itself. The guilt he carried weighed his shoulders down. Somehow she knew it wasn't the guilt of one man left behind. There was something else. What that was, she didn't know.

Everyone had come downstairs or meandered into the living room to see the new comer out of curiosity since they had only seen her briefly earlier. In addition, Father Gabriel hadn't met everyone either, at least not formally.

"Since you're all here, I guess some introductions are in order so we all know each other by name," Nicole piped up. "My name is Nicole. I'm the appointed leader." She then gestured to Tracey to introduce herself.

"I'm Tracey. I make most of the meals but everyone pitches in." Tracey nodded towards April.

"I'm April." She looked over at Alex.

"Hi. I'm Alex. If you need anything to read, I have a collection of books in my room." He said this mostly to Beth.

"I'm Lance. I was an EMT before the break out which makes me the resident medic."

"Jason. I beat the snot out of roamers."

"My name is Jack. I was a carpenter. I built the fence around this place with some help. If either of you need anything, just ask. We will do our best to accommodate."

"I'm Father Gabriel. This is my dog, Pirate. He found me a few months ago. He had already lost the eye, hence his name." Gabriel gently scratched the dog behind the ear.

"I'm Beth. I was part of a large group that occupied a prison. We were run out by another group about three days ago. We all scattered when the fightin' got real bad. Daryl and I stuck together, until tonight." She said the latter sourly towards Gabriel.

"What do you mean 'fighting'?" Nicole inquired.

"This man, who called himself the Governor, came and destroyed what we had because our leader wouldn't give the prison over to him. He had more weapons, more people, and a tank. We tried. We knew he was comin', but it wasn't enough. We lost people."

"A tank? That's awesome!"

"Jason! What is wrong with you? Didn't you just hear what she just said? She lost people because of that tank," Nicole scolded. Immediately, Jason wished he could have taken it back. He never liked when Nicole didn't agree with something he said.

"Do you know how many survived the attack?" Jack asked. Beth shook her head.

"Maybe half or less? I hope my sister did."

"You were separated from your sister? Any other relatives?" Lance asked. Tears started to well in her eyes.

"My daddy, but . . . ." She could only shake her head as tears began to fall down her soft cheeks. Tracey went over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Lance said. They were all somber for a moment.

Nicole was interested in learning more about this prison group but wondered if the moment had been shed along with Beth's tears. Nicole didn't do well with sappy situations except ignore them. She decided to leave the group to retire to her room.

"A'right, that's all for the night. I'm turning in. Those going tomorrow, should get to bed soon," Nicole informed them. Jack and Tracey could handle the sleeping arrangements for the new comers.

Murmurs of good nights followed her up the stairs. When they first moved in, everyone insisted that she take the master bedroom. After seeing the small room, she turned them down and claimed it. It was justifiable since she had spent so much time in a six foot by eight foot cell, she needed a confined space every once in a while. The smallest room was hers alone. It was too small for there to be more than one bed in it. It was a means for her to withdrawal from her duties and be alone with her thoughts.

On that night, she thought about the two new additions to their party. If they found Beth's friend Daryl, would they stay with them or continue to search for the others Beth had mentioned? Would Gabriel's noticeable guilt get the better of him and have him abandon this group or would he finally realize he needs people to survive? As she lay in her bed, Nicole knew she could not answer her thoughts. Her number one rule was that she would never force anyone to do something they didn't want to do. Those decisions were on them. She would just offer the open door.

There was a soft knock at her door after she had been laying awake for awhile. The other thing she had gotten used to at the correctional facility was never having total peace and quiet. She told her visitor to enter. Jack walked in quietly closing the door behind him.

"I wasn't sure if you were asleep or not," he said as he stood just inside her room.

"What's up?" She patted at the bed beside her after she sat up.

"I was talking with Beth. We'll need to get up early, before dawn. She explained that Daryl is an early riser and will most likely head out by day break," he informed her as he sat next to her.

"Tracey's on duty?" Jack nodded. "Beth with April?"

"Yeah."

"Gabriel?"

"My bed."

"Where are you sleeping?" He shrugged his shoulders. "You sleep here. I'll take the couch."

"I'll sleep on the couch. You stay here."

"With those long legs? You won't even fit on the full sized couch." Jack smiled. "You coming tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Knew you would. Gabriel can stay here. We won't need him tomorrow. We'll take Beth. Who else?"

"Lance said he'll go just in case Daryl is injured."

"I assume Jason wants to go as well?"

"Of course."

"And?"

"Leaving that up to you." Nicole shook her head.

"He needs to stay here. We need muscle at home, at least two. That's Tracey and him." Jack nodded in agreement.

Nicole stood up. Jack grabbed her hand. She looked back at him. His eyes pleaded with her to stay. She smiled weakly.

"I'll see you in the morning," she said. She gave his hand a tight squeeze before she pulled away. Jack sighed as his hand dropped to the bed. After she left, he held his head in his hands wondering what it would take to break through to her. She fascinated him and he just wanted to get closer but she would never let him.

Nicole walked down the stairs to the deserted living room. It was dark. All the oil and battery powered lamps had been turned off to save fuel and energy. Instead of turning right into the living room, she turned left to go to the coat closet. Inside was a shelf above the bar that held their coats and the coats of the previous owners. She retrieved a blanket then went to the living room. She slid off her hiking boots and curled up on the larger of the two couches. Although she wanted to keep her mind on the next morning's task, it wandered to Jack.

It had only been since they had moved into their current residence that she found him trying to get to her. He sat next to her during meals. He was always the first to volunteer to go with her on any outing. He often stood near her whenever he could. He even had subtle conversations about starting a relationship but she gently let him down each time. It wasn't that she didn't have feelings for him. She hadn't had a serious relationship with anyone for over 13 years. During those years, she had been held captive, deprived of interaction with the opposite sex in that capacity. She didn't know how to, or if she could, handle it.

Jason as another problem. She knew he liked her as well. She was sure it was purely lustful and merely a crush. The woman was well endowed and on many occasions she caught glimpses of Jason eyeing her voluptuous figure. Never in her life had she been in this sort of situation with men. She had many women infatuated with her while she was in prison. Unfortunately for them, Nicole's door did not swing that way. To her, Jason still had some maturing to do even at the age of twenty-eight. He still had some adolescent behaviors she found rather unappealing.

It was no coincidence that Jack woke Nicole the next morning. He always wanted to be the first thing she saw in the morning and the last thing she saw before going to sleep. He was having difficulty with the latter.

It was mostly dark. A faint light could be seen starting at the horizon as Nicole glanced out the window. He pushed a warm cup of tea into her hand. She could see other shadowy figures in the room as she took a sip of the warm sweet liquid. Once the grogginess left her brain she was able to distinguish who the figures were. Jason stood by the couch. Beth sat across from her on the loveseat. She could hear someone rifling through something behind her. She turned to see Lance looking through his jump bag. Nicole stood up to go into the kitchen. Jason stared at her in the darkness as she passed him.

"Aren't you suppose to be on watch?" she questioned as she took a gulp of tea. He had followed her. She set the cup down.

A basin of wash water was nestled in the sink. They kept the drains blocked not sure what would back up into them. They used a large trash can outside to collect rain water to use for cooking and cleaning. This basin was for personal washing. Nicole dipped her hands into tossing water onto her face. The cold water woke her to full awareness. She used a bit of soap to clean her face.

"Well, yeah, but I thought I could be more useful with you," Jason said.

Nicole rinse her face off with more cold water. Jack had already set a towel on the counter next to the sink. Jason would never have thought of that, she thought to herself. She took up the towel and dried herself off then peered at Jason in the grayness of the early morning.

"I don't have time to argue with you but you are staying here. If you go, that leaves only three here, not including Gabriel," Nicole said as she hung the towel over the handle of the oven.

"I'm the babysitter now?"

"You are protecting the only thing that keeps us safe from the roamers."

"But Jack gets to go, yet again."

"I'll deal with you when we get back," Nicole said glaring at Jason. As much as he wanted to be infuriated with her, he couldn't.

Nicole walked passed him to rejoin the group in the living room. Nicole thought the high school crush thing was getting annoying and interfering with Jason's better judgment. She would need to put an end to it when they returned.

"Do we have water, food, and weapons?" Nicole asked of everyone.

"I made sure everyone has a bottle of water. There are extra jugs in the van. Food is here," Jack explained holding up a backpack. "Everyone has a weapon."

"Even Beth?" she inquired.

"Even Beth," he said.

"Lance, how are your supplies?" she asked turning towards him.

"All right. All stocked up."

"Sounds like we're ready. Let's go," Nicole said moving towards the front door.

Everyone followed her out. Jason was the last to exit. He took up his post by the gate watching them load into the van. Nicole gave him the signal and he opened the door. When the van was clear of it, he closed it. Swinging his bat he struck the ground with frustrated force.

The van sped down the road in the early morning light. Nicole made her way to the intersection they had abandoned the previous night. She stopped the van. Beth and Nicole got out to examine the dirt. They saw Daryl's footprint again knowing he went down the road towards the railroad tracks.

"We'll go down to the tracks and see if we can pick up his tracks there," Nicole suggested to Beth. She nodded.

They got back into the van. Nicole turned the van to go down the road towards the railroad tracks Gabriel had mentioned the night before. Suddenly, the van lost all power. She tried to step on the accelerator but nothing happened. Applying the breaks, they came to a stop. Nicole looked over at Jack.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said.

Nicole reached down to pop the hood of the van. Jack got out along with her. When she looked under the hood, the timing belt was broken. She shook her head. She took a deep breath and let it out forcefully.

"Any chance of fixing that?" Jack asked.

"No," Nicole answered. "Once the timing belt breaks when it's in motion, the engine is most likely ruined. The piston timing is off and bends the valves. This van is toast."

She slammed the hood down. Lance slid the side door open. Slowly, she made her way around to the side of the van. He knew it was bad by the look on Nicole's face. He grabbed up his jump bag and loosened the shoulder strap to it's full extent, then slid it over his head to rest on his shoulder. Nicole went to the doorway.

"We walk." Lance nodded. Beth swallowed hard.

Jack was in the back of the van using twine to carry at least one jug of water with them. Lance offered to carry another. They closed up the van and set off down the road hopefully towards Daryl.


End file.
